What Shutdown? Federal Government is Still Hiring

The federal government apparently still is hiring, despite the shutdown that has put more than 800,000 workers on furlough.

At least that seems to be the message at USAjobs.gov, where ad still are posted for 4,000 federal positions , including 500 new ones put up in the last three days, The Washington Times reported.

Jobs appear to be available — or will be once the shutdown ends — at the departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, Justice, and Treasury.

Some are fairly attractive, especially at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where a chief of staff or chief of information services can earn up to $224,000.

The story's different, however, at the government website listing job openings in the Senate. USA Today reports that it hasn't been updated since Sept. 30, a day before the shutdown began.

Several other government-job listings also have no new postings or have closed temporarily due to the shutdown. Some carry the message: "The Federal Government is currently shut down. This website was last updated on October 1, 2013 and will not be updated until it reopens."

But USAjobs.gov, the main government job site, which is operated by the Office of Personnel Management, apparently is staying open regardless of the shutdown, because its funding is not tied to annual appropriations.

David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, said he finds it strange that the government still is advertising positions on some websites but has closed others.
"It goes to the whole discussion about how much of a shutdown this really is in the first place," he told the Times.

"It's more of a slowdown or a selective shutdown where they're shutting down things that are getting the biggest bang for the PR buck," Williams said. "It's a strange thing to be shutting down memorials and, at the same time, they keep trying to hire people. That makes no sense."

Williams is not the first to question the political motivation behind what has been closed and what remains open.

Attorneys, lobbyists, and others who need access to government websites also have complained that it seems unnecessary to close them, particularly those that deal with regulatory issues.